Walker - It's Time to Repay

[nightster]

I don't think buying Will Hopoate is the answer, although if we could swap him for Walker absolutely. We have the Ginga Ninja and Tevita Funa is really developing well in the Blacktown side, at modest money. We need $$ to re-sign players.

 

[Woodsie]

This team has had a problem bringing the centres into the game for several years now ... and yes ... they can go looking for work ... but that often means taking the ball at less than optimum times ....

Walker's form has mirrored his loss of attitude .... when he is a cocky **** ... he tends to back it up .... the past 5 months have obviously taken a mental toll .....

But agree ... he needs to get his mojo back and start annoying the crap out of oppositions and selected Silvertails alike .... Personally I will back him to come good ...

 

[47MVEagle]

Re: Walker at 5/8th - sorry but Cust has already delivered more at 5/8th in the handful of games he's played than Walker did in all the games he played 5/8th in.

Yes Cust makes mistakes & overplays his hand sometimes, but to me that shows he's creative & willing to try things out. He just has to learn when it's on or not, which comes with experience.

 

[40 nil]

Walker's form has mirrored his loss of attitude .... when he is a cocky **** ... he tends to back it up .... the past 5 months have obviously taken a mental toll .....

I agree that he needs to find a balance between aggressive play and being over the top. It seems passive mode isn't working for him. By the way, it is 7 months since the 6 December incident.

One theory on the centres pairing: Walker is a natural right centre & Suli was playing on the left for the Tigers. Could it be that Des wants at least one strong runner on each side of the field, currently Suli & Taufua, to ruck the ball after kicks?

 

[manly al]

Dylan should be able to get right his off side and missed tackles tendencies , really hurt Manly yesterday . But that is the still ongoing problem , should , and not continue to be a liability factor . Maybe just give him some early ball , cut out the cross field running and hopefully he can then regain some general playing confidence . No doubt that he can be a much better and effective player if he can just get his mind set to a more switched on and disciplined mode .

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

This team has had a problem bringing the centres into the game for several years now

It may not be only Manly, it may be the modern game. Two of the original 4 immortals were centres (Fulton obviously also played 5/8) but nowadays it's rare for a centre to be man of the match. Mitchell had a standout game them gets hammered for doing nothing in his next few games. Centres now are lined up against big fast backrowers and interchange forwards and don't get much space to shine.

 

[Nambawan]

He is out of form, but he is also getting very ordinary service from customers, a centre like walker thrives on early and quality ball. Neither of which are happening from his 5/8.

Fully agree. The service he has been getting from Cust has been poor. In reality has cruelled Walker. Cust appears to be unable to pass effectively to his left.

 

[40 nil]

Centres now are lined up against big fast backrowers and interchange forwards and don't get much space to shine.

Maybe introduce a rule to prevent (monster) forwards lining up as backs when defending scrums. This would promote more open play & give the outside backs a chance to shine. It is a boring practice & makes a mockery of scrums.

 

[40 years an eagle]

He should be gone at the end of the year. Des must be fuming over his CONTINUAL running up out of the line costing us points, and costing us the game yesterday.

Agree with SER8 that a centre's role has changed with backrowers attacking and defending against them more. Centres need to be GOOD defenders nowdays and Dylan ain't a 200k/year defender, let alone 600k.

 

[MissKate]

The dillon is playing for a contact and dishes up pathetic dross each week, god help us if we are stupid enough to re-sign him

 

[grassy]

Hurry back Parker. Nothing worse than a player chasing his own tail through cockiness. It only gets you so far. We need role models which is why I support Manly not cocky f.....s. Fulton,Eadie,Menzies,Randall,Lyons,cliffy,Gardner,Turbo,Jake.There’s your proof. These players can play without being cocky. If you need to be a cocky f...k then go into boxing or some kind of sport for a mug. I for one don’t want them at Manly, we went through that in the seventies with Roy Masters and his ding bat side and tell me how many premierships they won.? **** that ****. This team as it is has miles of heart but we still lack discipline with the ball handling. The players I have mentioned are just in Manly alone.Do I need to go on.? But it would not surprise me if and when Parker comes back it will be Moses who gets dropped for the dazzling Walker who has been fantastic this last 2 years. Sarcasm intended.

 

[40 nil]

Fulton ..............There’s your proof. These players can play without being cocky.

Don't know how much you saw of Bozo, but my memory is that he was a cocky player with a lot of gamesmanship. I remember one incident when he very cheekily rubbed Brian 'Poppa' Clay's famous bald pate during a tackle. Bozo was ahead of his time fitness-wise, always gave 100% effort and never ever played a poor game for Manly (not sure about other teams).

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Fulton,Eadie,Menzies,Randall,Lyons,cliffy,Gardner,Turbo,Jake.There’s your proof. These players can play without being cocky.

Fulton was ultra cocky, he gave it to the established players bigtime and had the ability to get away with it.

 

[HappilyManly]

Fully agree. The service he has been getting from Cust has been poor. In reality has cruelled Walker. Cust appears to be unable to pass effectively to his left.

Look at Jorge's try from the Titans game

Cade can pass fine but Walker usually is on top of him instead of being deep enough to run onto a pass

 

[nightster]

maybe Croker into 5/8 instead of Cust ... Croker gives good service ... then lets see if DW gets his mojo workin'

 

[40 nil]

maybe Croker into 5/8 instead of Cust ...

At this stage, I think Croker has slightly better game awareness than Cust and also has a better long kicking game. Will be interesting to see what team is selected this week with apparently Parker also in the mix.

 

[Shoe1]

Walker is but a shadow of his former self. Hard to recommend re-signing him.

Bozo was a dominant player in my memory, one who went looking for the ball and the tough stuff.

 

[joeboy]

Look at Jorge's try from the Titans game

Cade can pass fine but Walker usually is on top of him instead of being deep enough to run onto a pass

Looking at one pass in isolation does not prove anything. 90 % of his passing in backline raids is way off/ill timed/goes to wrong player etc.

But we can’t criticise local juniors here, or watch footy with a unbiased eye to the ability of some of our players.

 

[ALinda]

Wonder if Walker's saving his mojo for our Storm and Raiders games (when he's fired in the past, though a bit too much) lol. Of course it'll be too little too late, but just saying..

 

[maxta]

A few passes from Cust including early on from a dropout return were ordinary...
Thing is, he had the vision but lacked the execution on occasions, but he is still a rookie right?
On the positive he made some tough runs in traffic, missed a vital 1 on 1, but reckon has tackled well most occasions.
Hard to knock what Croker showed early season ...but still reckon the 5/8 gig is Cust’s to lose.